1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to implantable surgical slings, and particularly, implantable surgical slings which include a support member, a plurality of tissue fixation elements, and a spacer, having application in supporting tissue inside the body and particularly, for treating stress urinary incontinence.
2. Description of Related Art
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a female medical condition commonly associated with weakening of the pelvic muscles and/or connective tissues that support the urethra in its proper position. As a result of this condition, involuntary urine leakage occurs from simple physical activity, such as running or jumping, and even coughing or sneezing, as the urethra is not properly supported and does not remain fully closed during such activity.
An increasingly widespread technique for treating stress urinary incontinence is that of sling suspension. Generally, sling suspension procedures involve the placement of a sling beneath the patient's urethra and securing the sling to tissue located inside the pelvis region, including hard or soft tissue, such as bone, muscle, and/or fascia. In some procedures the sling passes through a patient's skin and may be anchored outside the body. An introducer may be used to help properly position the sling.
A traditional sling procedure may involve placing a strip of an implant material (e.g., natural tissue or synthetic mesh) under a tissue in need of support, i.e., urethra, and securing the strip to the surrounding tissue. In many instances, separate surgical fasteners, such as sutures, staples, cables, screws, pins, and the like, may be used to attach the sling to the tissue. In such instances, the surgical fastener must penetrate the tissue to a sufficient depth, i.e., in a non-superficial manner, to properly secure and/or anchor the sling into position, thereby inflicting trauma to the surrounding tissue.
It would be beneficial to provide an implantable sling which can attach directly to the tissue, with or without the use of a surgical fastener, wherein attachment is superficial and does inflict additional trauma to the tissue.